Security Resource

Your end user is ready to sign the dotted line; they’ve done their due diligence and believe your company is trustworthy and can provide exactly what they need. They have decided on an intrusion alarm system that provides the peace of mind they want at the price point they require. Now is the moment to capitalize on this trust and offer them one additional component that dramatically enhances their system: video verification. Here are five steps to take:

1. Ask. While it may seem almost too simple, just asking your alarm client if they know of or are interested in video verification can easily open the door to upselling. They may not know enough about it to feel comfortable asking you and they could be waiting for you to bring it up. You won’t know unless you ask.

2. Show. There’s nothing more powerful that watching a crime in progress to demonstrate the stark difference between video-verified and non-video-verified surveillance. Cue up footage from an existing client that shows a triggering event and include footage showing a false-positive. Let them see first-hand what they are missing with a basic alarm system.

3. Understand. It’s important to understand the motivators driving your clients’ interest in security. Are they motivated by fear? Are they motivated by price? Are they motivated by an everyone-else-is-doing-it mentality? Clients are often looking for the shortest police response time and the most security they can afford; video verification is a natural upsell to meet both needs.

4. Inform. There may come a day when law enforcement won’t respond to alarm calls unless they are verified by video. As of now, the response time for verified and unverified video is significantly different with verified alarms receiving a Priority 1 response and traditional alarms marked as Priority 3. Explain this difference to your client and lay out what that time difference can mean in terms of property damage, theft, etc.

5. Encourage. Technology has changed rapidly and it’s easier than ever to have a robust security system that utilizes the latest technology while fitting into budget constraints. The challenges facing new technology have changed with significant improvements in the cellular network resulting in improved resolution and color images. Encourage your clients to stay away from old technology that doesn’t meet their needs efficiently.

Scott Duncan is senior vice president sales and channels for Quatro Electronics (quatroelectronics.com).